Hidden Valley comes up big in Group AA tennis quarterfinals

Hidden Valley’s boys and girls tennis teams each notched wins of 5-1 in the quarterfinals of the Group AA State Tournament at Roanoke College, clinching a spot in Friday’s semifinals.

Hidden Valley’s boys team punched its ticket to the semifinals with the win over Spotswood, the runner-up from Region III. Despite the score line heavily favoring the Titans, head coach Ryan Teague stated that it wasn’t easy.

“When we got up 4-1 in singles, it looked like Spotswood rallied around that,” Teague said. “Spotswood put in a good effort at the number six singles and at the number two doubles. They were fighting back and fighting hard and making my guys work for it.”

Titans’ Tim Roehr defeated Josh Rodgers 6-1, 6-1 in the No. 1 singles and Grant Brown defeated Emmett Johnson, 6-3, 6-0.

Sam Burton rolled past Walter Trobaugh 6-3, 6-0, and Matt Meyers downed Alex Preston 6-2, 6-2. Roehr and Brown clinched the win for the Titans with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Josh Rodgers and Joe Dillenbeck in the number one doubles, something that Teague noted .

“My number one doubles team has been rock solid all year long and in the region,” Teague said. “In the past week or so they’ve been a little more assertive and more aggressive, so they took us home.”

“They were very consistent, but overall we had the power and endurance to pull through,” senior Matthew Meyers said.

The Titan girls advanced to Friday’s semifinals with a win over Broadway, also the runner-up from Region III. Just as the boys team had to change strategies a bit, so the girls team had to make adjustments on the fly.

“Today I had to be really patient because she [Holly Knupp] kept everything in,” Hidden Valley senior Ceyda Durmaz said. “So I had to lean away from my more aggressive game and just keep it in.”

Durmaz defeated Knupp, 6-0, 6-2 at the No. 1 singles and Emma Barker defeated Sarah Donaire, 6-3, 6-4. Abby Dixon downed Kara Armentrout, 6-1, 6-1, and Laura Sowder defeated Olivia Driver 7-5, 6-3. Becky Brisley’s 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 win over Bayley Skidmore clinched the win for the Titans.

“A lot of credit goes to Becky Brisley because she was able to turn her match around and Laura Sowder played a difficult match as well,” Hidden Valley head coach Lindy Stetson said.

The Titans and Gobblers went to doubles, but Brisley defeated Skidmore during a break in the doubles action.

“We’ve known all along that either doubles or the bottom half of our lineup is going to have to win for us,” Stetson said. “That’s what happened today.”

Joe Dillenbeck scored the point for the Spotswood boys, defeating Ethan Bates 6-2, 7-6 (7-3). Bayley Skidmore of Broadway defeated Grace Whiteside, 6-1, 6-0 for the lone Gobbler point.

The Titan boys will play Briar Woods at noon Friday at the Virginia Tech Tennis Center.

The girls team will play Jamestown at 9 a.m. on Friday, also at the Virginia Tech Tennis Center.

Boys Tennis

Hidden Valley 5, Spotswood 1

Singles

Tim Roehr (HV) d. Josh Rodgers, 6-1, 6-1; Joe Dillenbeck (S) d. Ethan Bates, 6-2, 7- (7-3); Grant Brown (HV) d. Emmett Johnson, 6-3, 6-0; Sam Burton (HV) d. Walter Trobaugh, 6-3, 6-0; Matt Meyers (HV) d. Alex Preston, 6-2, 6-2; Yauz Drumaz (HV) vs. Josh Sheets, 6-1, 3-6, 4-2, DNF.

Doubles

Roehr and Brown (HV) d. Rodgers and Dillenbeck, 6-3, 6-1; Jake Elton and Burton vs. Johnson and Trobaugh, 6-1, 3-6, DNF.

Girls Tennis

Hidden Valley 5, Broadway 1

Singles

Ceyda Durmaz (HV) d. Holly Knopp, 6-0, 6-2; Emma Barker (HV) d. Sarah Donaire, 6-3, 6-4; Abby Dixon (HV) d. Kara Armentrout, 6-1, 6-1; Laura Sowder (HV) d. Olivia Driver, 7-5, 6-3; Becky Brisley (HV) d. Whitney Cash, 6-2, 1-6, 6-3; Bayley Skidmore (B) d. Grace Whiteside, 6-1, 6-0.

Doubles

Dixon and Caroline Hearp vs. Donaire and Driver, 7-5, 2-6, DNF.

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